Complete cleft sternum.

A case of complete cleft sternum is presented along with the nomenclature of sternal defects. It is recommended that the term ectopia cordis should be applied only to cases in which the heart and thoracic viscera are genuinely ectopic. Surgical correction of complete cleft sternum should be performed in the neonatal period whether the infant is symptomatic or not. Simple closure of the defect, as for a median sternotomy, is possible during the first month of life and this avoids the more complex reconsructions necessary in older children.